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VaST blast Monday, 16 March 2009 |
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| VaST is devoted to designing green environments that are inspired, architecturally distinct, energy-efficient, and high performing. |
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BOULDER COUNTY GREEN JOBS SUMMIT
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| Joseph and I attended the Boulder County Green Jobs Summit on March 6th where I ran into writer John Farmer and asked him if he wouldn't mind writing up a summary of the event.
--Brandy |
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The first Boulder County Green Jobs Summit was held Friday, March 6 at the Millennium Hotel in Boulder. The event was a good forum to learn about several Boulder County initiatives that promise to stimulate new green jobs. Due to the overwhelming turnout, another Summit will likely be planned. The main programs discussed were the ClimateSmart Loan Program, the Green Jobs Pipeline, and Bridges Out of Poverty. The ClimateSmart Loan Program will provide up to $40 million in loans to residential and commercial borrowers in the near future to make energy-efficiency or renewable energy improvements to their homes or buildings. Each loan will be paid back to the County over 15 years through higher property taxes on the specific property that is improved. This is a great way to take the upfront “sting” out of energy improvement projects, from weatherization to panels. If the property is sold, the payments (higher taxes) are assumed by the new owner. The first round of loans will be for residential projects. If interested, move fast. The County expects to make about 2800 loans averaging $10k each in the coming few months. Applicants must attend a workshop in March 2009 and complete your application by April. Go to the Boulder County website for details. Or call Ann Livingston, County Sustainability Co-ordinator. The Green Jobs Pipeline and Bridges Out of Poverty are County programs run by the Department of Health and Human Services that help people find jobs. They provide great opportunities through training and internships with green energy companies. For details, visit greenjobspipeline.org or wfbc.org. Commissioner Will Toor gave the opening remarks and Seth Portner, from the Governor’s Energy Office, spoke about the growing “new energy” opportunities throughout Colorado, especially those resulting from Obama’s Stimulus plan. The event was sponsored by Longs Peak Energy Conservation and several Boulder County departments. In attendance were a variety of people including contractors hoping to pick up new work, people looking for employment in the green sector, County staff administering the programs, and other usual suspects. If you missed this Summit, watch for the next! |
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john farmer
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| ADDITIONAL LINKS
http://groups.google.com/group/climatesmart/browse_thread/thread/df3551dbb3cffc0d http://apolloalliance.org/digest/?tag=boulder-county-green-jobs-summit |
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| VaST offers architecture, site planning, interior design, space planning, LEED consulting, landscape and signage design services for commercial and residential clients. Our dedicated team provides the technical expertise and creative skill to help every client realize a project that melds their needs and desires. Our Objective — design the most appropriate, stylish and energy-efficient project for the budget. | ||||||
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